Very good e-reader, except for very poor mobi-format compatibility.
Product was recommended
from Rob Hooft (12.06.2024)
This is a brand-new model and there are as yet few reviews out there, so a few details here.
After many, many years on the Kindle I tried another brand, the straw being that it stopped delivering newspapers and magazines (like the NYT and The Economist) in 2023. The Tolino Shine Color cannot do this either, but it promises a range of other, major goodies that the Kindle (still) lacks: color (quite relevant because I read mostly non-fiction, and diagrams, maps and graphs often use this), and format flexibility (both epub and mobi, plus pdf and comics compatibility).
Among those formats, reading mobi files is just awful. Files take ages to load, don't load at all or with garbled formatting. This is just misleading advertising. I dropped only one star because there is a workaround: I finally reconverted all my mobile files to epub with Calibre on a PC, and then all was fine. No such problems with pdf and cbz (comics) files.
The dictionaries are plentiful but a bit a primitive. Lookup on Google or Wikipedia works smoothly, though. No language learning tool either, as on the Kindle, nor a clipping file. Colors are a bit washed-out, but that is no problem when reading in blazing sunlight, which is what e-readers are made for.
B&W resolution is 300 dpi, as for the Kindle. The reader also uses a magnetic cover to put the device asleep, and has backlight. Storage is quite generous at 16 gb, and it is even (much) lighter than my Paperwhite. I also found the page layout better (you can kill margins and line spacing, and make text really small). Page turn speed, book navigation and the popup keyboard work OK. You cannot blow up images to full-page, as on a Kindle.
Overall, a very decent reader, and sharply priced here.
The Swiss store that supplies ebooks for the Tolino is understocked and (vastly) overpriced (again comparing to the Kindle). Sadly, each ebook store comes with its very own DRM, so you need to be a bit creative for reading books that you bought/buy from, e.g., the Kindle store on this device, or obtain your e-books from alternative channels. As long as books are sold with padlocks that only the companies hold the keys of, this business will not take off.
This Internet page displays only price comparisons among different offers. There is no direct purchasing option or support. All information is provided without guarantee. All prices shown include VAT, an advanced recycling fee and the SUISA Swiss performing rights society deduction plus all shipping costs. Brand names, product descriptions, product images and trademarks used here are the property of the companies concerned.
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After many, many years on the Kindle I tried another brand, the straw being that it stopped delivering newspapers and magazines (like the NYT and The Economist) in 2023. The Tolino Shine Color cannot do this either, but it promises a range of other, major goodies that the Kindle (still) lacks: color (quite relevant because I read mostly non-fiction, and diagrams, maps and graphs often use this), and format flexibility (both epub and mobi, plus pdf and comics compatibility).
Among those formats, reading mobi files is just awful. Files take ages to load, don't load at all or with garbled formatting. This is just misleading advertising. I dropped only one star because there is a workaround: I finally reconverted all my mobile files to epub with Calibre on a PC, and then all was fine. No such problems with pdf and cbz (comics) files.
The dictionaries are plentiful but a bit a primitive. Lookup on Google or Wikipedia works smoothly, though. No language learning tool either, as on the Kindle, nor a clipping file. Colors are a bit washed-out, but that is no problem when reading in blazing sunlight, which is what e-readers are made for.
B&W resolution is 300 dpi, as for the Kindle. The reader also uses a magnetic cover to put the device asleep, and has backlight. Storage is quite generous at 16 gb, and it is even (much) lighter than my Paperwhite. I also found the page layout better (you can kill margins and line spacing, and make text really small). Page turn speed, book navigation and the popup keyboard work OK. You cannot blow up images to full-page, as on a Kindle.
Overall, a very decent reader, and sharply priced here.
The Swiss store that supplies ebooks for the Tolino is understocked and (vastly) overpriced (again comparing to the Kindle). Sadly, each ebook store comes with its very own DRM, so you need to be a bit creative for reading books that you bought/buy from, e.g., the Kindle store on this device, or obtain your e-books from alternative channels. As long as books are sold with padlocks that only the companies hold the keys of, this business will not take off.